


I am Not a Robot

by lea_hazel



Category: Oh No! - Marina & the Diamonds (Song)
Genre: Background Femslash, Character Study, F/F, Family Feels, Gen, Interviews, Journalism, Near Future, Past Relationship(s), Women In Power, light background science fiction, politics of technological advancement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24286747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: "Apart from the silk orchids on the table, the whole room breathes a retro-futuristic aesthetic that’s almost too on the nose for a woman who made her name and fortune on cutting edge robotics technology."
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: Jukebox 2020





	I am Not a Robot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littlespaceposts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlespaceposts/gifts).



Eliana Adamant, founder and CEO of Adamant Robotics Incorporated, is a woman in her early forties, more elegant than pretty, with a narrow face, strong nose, and wide, mesmerizingly dark eyes. She wears a sleek sheath dress that emphasizes her height, ice blue and unadorned, though a glimpse of the iridescent designer label proves the costume is as costly as it is superficially unassuming. Her personal assistant ushers me into an air-conditioned conference room resplendent in chrome and glass. Apart from the silk orchids on the table, the whole room breathes a retro-futuristic aesthetic that’s almost too on the nose for a woman who made her name and fortune on cutting edge robotics technology.

“Ms. Adamant, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Our readers are eager to hear from the conquering hero of the modern day robotics market, on the eve of your greatest victory.”

She laughs sweetly. “Please, call me Eliana. Only my grandmother called me _Ms._ , and only when I was in trouble.”

“Well, whatever your crimes might have been, her form of discipline clearly paid off, considering your achievements.”

“Very true,” says Eliana, eschewing the false modesty that a lesser woman might have been tempted to. “I owe a lot of my present success to my grandmother’s teachings, and I’m delighted that I’ve finally found a fitting way to pay tribute to her.” She laughs self-consciously. “But you’ll hear all about that on Tuesday, when we reveal our new product.”

“Yes, the big press conference. Can it possibly be as revolutionary as your media and outreach department would have us believe?”

There’s a twinkle of mischief in her eye when she replies, “Only one way to find out.”

“It’s been a long road from ARI’s founding to your present prosperity.”

“Yes, it has. As you know, Bob, I first founded Adamant Robotics fresh out of college when I was only twenty one. From the start, I’ve expected the same kind of diligence and excellence from my employees that was always expected of me, and the company has flourished for it. Adamant’s prosperity has been to the benefit of all its employees.”

“Even Jasmine Singer?”

Despite her smile, Eliana’s irritation is subtle but obvious. “Bob, I thought we were here to discuss the Project Acacia launch, not my divorce. Let’s stick to relevant questions, shall we?”

“Oh, I think the departure of one of the company’s founding members is very relevant, especially as she’s been excluded from what you yourself called, only last week, ARI’s quote ‘ _greatest triumph_ ’ unquote.”

“Jasmine and I started out at the same place,” she relents to say. “We were college students, young and starry-eyed, and eaten with ambition. We wanted to change the world.”

“And so you have.”

“So we have,” she agrees, “each in her own way. Everyone at ARI was sad to see Jasmine go, but we’ve watched with interest and, yes, admiration as she forged a new professional path. One that remaining with us at the company would not have allowed her to pursue. I think it suits her ambitions much better than the world of business, and she has every reason to be proud of herself.”

“Very gracious, Eliana. Especially considering the nature of her political work. Ms. Singer has been lobbying relentlessly for more stringent regulations on next gen robotics, the very field that you’re trying to conquer. Almost as though she’s targeting your work directly.”

“Hardly, Bob. I think her choice of occupation is perfectly rational, considering both her technical qualifications and her years of experience in the field. Those of us operating within the field of robotics know well how an unregulated market can work to the detriment of everyone from investors to consumers, and no one knows that better than Adamant Incorporated.”

“So you support the regulations, even though they cut into your profits?”

“Our mission is to bring the world closer to the future, as our motto states.” She points a slender, elegant finger at the scrolling words embossed on the wall above her head.

**Adamant Robotics: Bringing the Future to You**

“Profit is just a means to an end. Waxman discusses it in his latest book, _The Politics of Commerce in an Age of Innovation_. Have you read it? I found it quite illuminating, myself.”

“Is that the attitude you take with you to the boardroom or the negotiating table? You have quite a reputation for being a ferocious negotiator. Years in the making, one might say.”

“I bring all the zeal of my position to negotiations, and my vision for the future, not just of the company but of humanity.”

“That’s a lofty ambition for a businesswoman.”

“I’ve often been called ambitious, Bob. It’s hardly an insult, and it’s never bothered me.”

“Not even when your former assistant is saying it to a page six rag? Odille Harwell had some pretty harsh things to say about both you and the company, after she was unceremoniously fired from her position as your assistant.”

“Harwell was dismissed with references. It’s not unusual for an employee losing their position to be resentful, but her outburst was purely fictional, I assure you. I do find it interesting how prepared some readers were to take her assertions at face value. Rarely do I see other CEOs held up to such scrutiny, even though running a company perforce means dismissing not one but many employees, over the years. Will you lend the same scrutiny to their former workers as to mine?”

“Are you crying sexism?”

“I’m not crying anything. My attitude to petulant former employees and my approach to boardroom negotiations are one and the same: I know exactly what I want. People don’t like that. I’ve faced the backlash from investors whose cash I turned down, back during the company’s first years– but that was years ago, and aren’t we all glad that we’ve moved forward as a society?”

“Certainly. Getting back to Tuesday’s launch. You’ve made high promises about next gen tech and changing the rules of the game. Several of your competitors have attempted parallel maneuvers and were roundly criticized by tech media. SynTechia’s line of navigator robotics was dismissed only last month. The tech press called it a ‘ _palette swap_ ’, saying that other than sleek silicon packaging, there was nothing to it. The fever pitch is high, what with all the publicity you’ve been generating. What happens if Project Acacia falls short of expectations?”

For the first time in our conversation, her elegant smile falters, and she leans forward to address me, both hands planted on the glass table between us. “Project Acacia won’t fail to deliver on expectations, because unlike SynTechia, we’re selling _technological innovation_ , not lifestyle hacks for yuppies. As my late grandmother used to say, when you have the goods you have the bragging rights. She built her business on that principle, putting the quality of the product ahead of the advertising budget, and she raised me on the same principle. It made her a success in her life and beyond, and that’s the legacy she left me. Do you see this?”

Eliana points to the one piece of jewelry that she’s wearing, a flashy piece in platinum and diamond. The pendant spells out her name, glittering when it catches the room’s artificial light.

“My grandmother gave me this for my twenty fifth birthday,” she said, her eyes hard. “It was a promise and a demand. With it, and with the principles she passed on to me, I can be every bit the success that she was.”

Finally, she leans back, and some of the ice ebbs out of her dark eyes.

“Our product speaks for itself, and on Tuesday, our customers will get to judge for themselves whether we’ve made good on our promises.”

And there you have it, folks. Eliana Adamant, peerless and ruthless, promising the dawning of a new age of robotics. Pencil it into your calendars, Project Acacia is revealed in the Adamant Robotics Incorporated business headquarters, Tuesday morning, 9 AM. We look forward to seeing what dazzlingly elegant ensemble she wears to the press conference. It’s sure to be a spectacle.


End file.
